Milice Patriotique
The Milice Patriotique were a paramilitary and quasi-police unit created in Lodamun in the mid-2140's, with the aim of providing a law and order force composed of native Lodamuns during the Deltarian peacekeeping mission in Lodamun. Eventually nearly 100,000 Lodomese joined the Milice, and their activities changed from that of policing to that of an anti-partisan unit, fighting 'Communists' and Libertarians. However the colloboration of the Milice with the occupiers did not go down well after the withdrawal of Deltarian forces, and the period of history has almost been airbrushed from Lodomese history Creation In January 2144 Deltarian peacekeepers, invited into Lodamun by the Faithful Remnants. The Deltarians established beachheads in Rapula, Andalay and Norstavan. This pre-empted the collapse of civil authority in Lodamun itself. Whilst awaiting Deltarian reinforcements, several Deltarians Generals, upon the suggestion of certain right-wing Lodomese dissidents, aided the creation of a Lodomese paramilitary, thus in late January the Milice was formed, setting up barracks in Ficklesbourg, Wednesday and Diorama, accepting their first recruits in early February. The Milice were put under the command of General Aleksandr Gewaeti. The original purpose of this organisation was explicitly limited to the restoration of civil order in several Lodomese cities under Deltarian control. However the sheer volume of recruits provoked a readjustment of the orders given to the Milice, as they expanded to cover rural as well as urban areas, and more importantly they became a vicious anti-partisan unit fighting side by side with the Deltarian armed forces against the Lodomese armed forces. Recruitment Initially recruits tended to come from far-right organisations, motivated by sympathies to the Deltarians. However as the war progressed through early 2144, the source of recruits radically changed. The collapse of the civil authority and the rise of Libertarian and Communist resistance movements led to socially conservative politicians welcoming the formation of the Milice, encouraging recruitment. However destruction of the Lodomese Army in June/July 2144 led to the swelling of the ranks of the Milice. Thousands of ex-soldiers captured by the Deltarians chose to join the Milice, some out of compulsion, most out of a sense of misguided patriotism, viewing the Libertarians as the real enemy. With the success of the Deltarians in 'liberating' the ultra-conservative province of Golavia, a large recruiting ground opened up to the Milice. As an illustration of this fact two new training barracks were opened up in Jorka and Kaleces. Training The Milice had run a total of five training barracks for recruits. However by the beginning of 2145 Deltarian controlled Rapula had been overrun, and their training centre in Ficklesbourg was never reopened. Two other training barracks were in Norstavan, which, although under Deltarian control throughout the entire four years of the conflict, saw the fiercest guerrilla fighting between the resistance and the Milice. The basic infantry and police training took three months, so the first Milice soldiers were out patrolling the steets by the end of April. Extra training was given for special units within the Milice. Although initially officers within the Milice were either Lodomese recruits given positions, or Deltarian officers loaned to the Milice. However a Training Academy was established in Norstavan, attached to the infantry training barracks at Wednesday, and the first Milice Officer Cadets were undergoing training. The Milice was also boosted by the admission of hundreds of former Lodomese army officers, adding valuable experience to the ranks. Offcier Cadets were given six months training, and Milice Officers began to replace the Deltarian Officers by early September 2144. Organisation The Milice was organised into twenty brigades of between two and six batallions, consisting of roughly 2,500 to 6,000 men. The average fighting brigade had average of 4 Batallions, 4,800 men. The Brigades were each responsible for a given zone, with which to suppress partisans. Several brigades were also involved in front line fighting. Batallions were often detached from their HQ Brigade for specific operations, or to reinforce other units. *1st (1st Rapulan) Brigade *2nd (1st Norstavan) Brigade *3rd (2nd Rapulan) Brigade *Milice Guard Brigade *5th (2nd Norstavan) Brigade *6th (1st Golivian) Brigade *7th (2nd Golivian) Brigade *8th (3rd Norstavan) Brigade *9th (3rd Golivian) Brigade *10th (Valruzian) Brigade *11th (4th Norstavan) Brigade *12nd (5th Norstavan and South Andalayan) Brigade *13th (1st Andalay) Brigade *14th (Intelligence) Brigade *15th (4th Golivian and East Andalay) Brigade *16th (3rd Rapulan) Brigade *17th (5th Golivian) Brigade *18th (6th Norstavan and North Kregon) Brigade *19th (Golivian Training) Brigade *20th (Norstavan Training) Brigade Assosicated Units The units described below were not formally a part of the Milice. The Andalay Legion itself consisted of Lodomese volunteers who joined the Deltarian Army, and former Milice leaders denied any knowledge of the existence of the 14th Brigade, the unit in charge of 'extracting' information from captured resistance fighters. 14th (Intelligence) Brigade The 14th Brigade was the intelligence branch of the Milice. It consisted of approximately three thousand soldiers, sub-divided into three regiments, 18th (Norstavan), 21st (Golivian and Andalay) and the 28th (Golivian and Rapulan) Regiments. The Brigade was trained for intelligence gathering and counter espionage. It remained highly secretive and was a vital part in the dirty war against the resistance. Allegations of torture, extra-judicial murder and other vile crimes were raised against this brigade, whom the Milice denied existed in the trial of former Milice members in the 2150’s. However evidence proved otherwise, and the Milice high brass knew full well about the activities of the feared 14th Brigade. Andalay Legion The Andalay Legion consisted of 15,000 Lodomese men recruited in the spring and summer of 2145 in preperation for the winter assault upon the northern city of Port Andelay. They were incorporated into the Deltarian Army proper. As Andalay had largely remained outside of Deltarian control, the Milice had not recruited in Andalay, thus the pool of potential Milice recruits was taken into the Legion. The siege of Andelay began in Decemeber 45, however the city did not fall until the December of 2146, and a bloody 12-month siege that decimated the ranks of the Legion. Out of the original strength, a mere 3,000 men were able to hold muster in the triumphant march through a devastated Port Andelay. The remaining members of the Legion were organised into three new regiments of Northern Seleyan extraction, mixing with volunteers from Valruzia, Egelion and Likatonia, forming the Seleyan Brigade within the Deltarian 8th Infantry Division. Milice on Patrol, Norstavan Enlarge Milice on Patrol, Norstavan Resistance members within the city threw the Brigade into bitter fighting through the spring of 2147, as an uprising with assistance from Alorian troops, set about the Liberation of the city. The city was eventually relieved, and much of the 8th Infantry Division was destroyed. The Brigade itself had been cut down to less than one thousand soldiers, perhaps half of whom were Lodomese. The remaining soldiers were reformed into the Andalayan Regiment, which fought partisans in Andalya until the declaration of a cease-fire in December 2148. By this point the regiment had been strengthened by the addition of more foreign Volunteers from Valruzia, it is debatable as to whether or not it contained any Lodomese nationals by this date. With the withdrawal of the Deltarians throughout the end of 2148 and the beginning of 2149, the Andalyan Regiment was offered the choice of disbandment, or to volunteer as Deltarian nationals and withdraw back to Deltaria. Actions See Brigades above Alleged Atrocities The Milice was widely to have been involved in many of the massacres carried out by the Deltarian Forces. There are circumstances in which the Milice is thought to have carried out executions with no prior knowledge from the Deltarians forces, and others in which the Milice merely oversaw the rounding up of suspects for the transportation to Deltarian Interrogation Units. More details concerning alleged atrocities can be found in information about the individual Brigade units of the Milice. After the War After the ending of the war in December 2148, the Deltarian Army within Lodamun withdrew rapidly. Much of it has been withdrawn throughout 2148, but the first six months of 2149 saw the entire army withdraw. This left the Milice in an awkward position. Many members of the resistance had made it clear that they were not in the mood for forgiveness. In parts of the country fighting continued right up until the end of December, so any attempts as Milice demoralisation were unobtainable. This left the Milice, without the protection of the Deltarian Army, in a vulnerable position. From January 2149 a period of retribution began. Retribution At the end of 2148 it was estimated that roughly 95,000 Milice were still active in the field. Through the beginning of 2149 most were forced to disarm as a result of the peace conditions set out by the Deltarians. The Milice felt that they had been betrayed and they were now at the mercy of the resistance guerrillas whom the Milice had fought for the last four years. In the provinces of Rapula, Kregon and Golaria, Milice soldiers were able to take advantage of the amnesty offered by the state governing party, the Faithful Remnants. However in Norstavan and Andalay Milice members, their families and their supporters were not so lucky. Resistance leaders set up courts and ‘tried’ the Milice men on charges of treason and collaborating with the enemies of Lodamun. These show trials found all of the accused guilty, and condemned them to death. Across the two provinces an estimated 12,000 Milice were executed, and perhaps a many as 100,000 collaborators were summarily executed by the resistance firing squads. In Rapula fights broke out between armed Milice units and the resistance, which were stopped by Dundorfian peacekeepers, which were able to prevent bloodshed in the fall of 49, however Milice members were sentenced to five years hard labour. Valruzians in Kregon were similarly able to prevent any bloodletting, although they demanded the repatriation of all Milice who were Valruzian citizens. Most interestingly in the nation of Golivia the Milice remained unpunished. The government of Golivia, retaining an overall majority, was able to ignore calls for retribution. So of the 95,000 Milice who were active at the end of 2148, some 15,000 died at the hands of either resistance courts, or clashes between the two after the ceasefire. A further 25,000 were sentenced by to terms of hard labour, varying between two and ten years. Perhaps another 5,000 Milice members were able to flee with the Deltarian and Kanjoran forces, leaving just over half who were able to escape any punishment at the end of the war. Activity Since 2149 Although the Milice were dead as a paramilitary after the peace of December 2148, Milice Clubs thrived in the province of Golavia and Rapula. Former Milice members were able to gain political office in within the Faithful Remnants. However this was the more peaceful side of the continued activities of the Milice, the activities of a few die-hard anti-communist/libertarian members continued as well. Several cells throughout the country continued a violent campaign against former resistance members. Although never claimed, it is widely believed that the assassination of the popular former resistance and Libertarian Militia leader, George Miestran was carried out by several ex-Milice. Three men were arrested and tried over the murder, two of them ex-Milice, however all three were aquitted after an appeal pointed out that key evidence had been fabricated by former resistance policemen. After the elections of 2151 the official policy of the government of Lodamun was to cover up the story of Lodomese collaboration with the Deltarian invaders. The resistance was presented as a united front of all the Lodomese, the Milice were not mentioned in teachings about the Lodomese War, the Andalyan Legion were disregared as nothing more than a few ‘pirates’. In 2175 a new political party, the Milice were launched by several wealthy former Milicemen. The party is broadly right wing and has become the largest party in Golivia, however few comments appear to have been raised by politicians in Lodamun, and it is generally believed that the shame of collaboration is no longer the stigma that it was throughout the 2150’s and 60’s. [Category:Lodamun